Transporting cargo in the United States is an important component of the economy. Current methods of transporting cargo across the interior of the United States includes the use of railroads where shipping containers can be loaded on to railway cars and shipped from a distribution center to a drop point. Other forms of transporting cargo across the interior of the United States include using a semi-trailer as a cargo hauler which is in turn pulled by a tractor. Cargo is placed within the cargo hauler and can be secured to the side walls or floors of the interior of the cargo hauler in order to secure the cargo in place during transit. Cross-beams can be secured to the side walls and may aid in securing cargo within the cargo hauler.
Traditionally it has been difficult to control the placement of support structures, such as cross-beams, within the cargo hauler. A cross-beam can be placed laterally across the interior of the cargo trailer in order to support cargo that may be stacked thereon. By stacking the cargo vertically within the hauler, all of the space within the hauler can be more efficiently used. Such increased efficiency allows the cargo hauler owner to move freight more efficiently and increase revenue opportunities.
In order to stack cargo vertically to the ceiling within the cargo hauler it is sometimes desirable to separate the cargo into different skews. One method of separating the cargo in to different skews is to position cross-beams laterally across the wall of the trailer. Once the cross-beams are secured, cargo can then be placed on top of the cross-beam. A plurality of cross-beams may be stacked vertically within the trailer to separate the cargo into different layers. Moving the cross-beam up and down to selected positions requires two workers to work in concert so as to evenly position the cross-beam at a desired vertical height. This task can be very time consuming and costly.
It would be desirable to a provide a cargo trailer deck system that is operable to release the cross-beam from its current position and move it to a preferred height while keeping the beam level in one fluid motion. It would also be desirable to provide an improve cargo trailer deck system that can be easily operated by a single worker instead of two workers.